Written by IAPMO 12:49 pm Industry News, Product Testing & Certification

DOE Enforces Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a Proposed Rule Making and Public Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 30, in Washington, D.C., regarding its Energy Conservation program and is now accepting comments to the proposed changes.

In January, the DOE began aggressively enforcing a federal law requiring manufacturers of water closets, urinals, faucets and showerheads that are governed by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 to provide documentation certifying that their models meet the applicable water conservation standards. Failure to comply could result in fines totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Many manufacturers are not aware of the requirements of the law or how to obtain testing and certification through the DOE. Information on the latest rules, enforcement actions and other information can be obtained by going to the DOE Enforcement Website.

These procedures allow for a third party testing agency, such as IAPMO R&T Lab, to submit test reports on the manufacturer’s behalf. The compliance statement, however, must be signed and submitted by the manufacturer.

Testing can be performed at one of IAPMO R&T Lab’s facilities — in either Ontario, Calif., or in Guangzhou, China — or an engineer can be sent to the manufacturer’s facility for more convenient on-site testing.

For more information on the DOE requirements and IAPMO R&T Lab’s services, contact Donna Estrada at (909) 472-4134 or donna.estrada@iapmortl.org.

IAPMO R&T Laboratory is an independent testing, research, and technical service agency for the plumbing and mechanical industries. IAPMO R&T Laboratory is part of The IAPMO Group’s family of companies.

Last modified: September 17, 2010

Close